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Invasive Species Grant Opportunities

Below is a list of grants available for agencies, groups, organizations, and individuals to fund invasive species projects in Pennsylvania.

Grants from State Government

Coastal Zone Management Grant Program — This Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) program funds projects that benefit coastal wetlands, address coastal hazards, remove marine debris, plan special area management, protect Great Lakes resources, improve public access and education, improve energy and government facility siting and activities, and promote aquaculture. Projects must impact or be located within the 112-mile stretch along the Delaware Estuary or 77 miles along Lake Erie.

Community Conservation Partnership Program — This Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) program partners with communities and organizations across Pennsylvania to provide grants and technical assistance support for local recreation projects, trails and greenways, heritage areas, open space protection, river conservation, and environmental education programs.

Environmental Education Grants — This DEP program funds formal and informal education projects for youth and adults, with priority given to projects on climate, nonpoint source water pollution, and Environmental Justice.

Greenways, Trails, and Recreation Program — This Department of Community and Economic Development program provides funding for planning, acquisition, development, rehabilitation, and repair of greenways, recreational trails, open space, parks and beautification projects.

"Growing Greener Plus" Grants Program — Growing Greener Plus funds projects that help reduce nonpoint source water pollution through local, watershed-based planning, restoration, and protection efforts. It's the largest and most recognized grants program of DEP.

Pennsylvania Wild Resource Conservation Program —I n 2021, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources WRCP is soliciting grant applications for priorities in the following categories: surveys, research, conservation and management and climate change. Specific to invasive species: Monitoring the effects of Round Gobies on freshwater mussels in the French Creek watershed. The potential impacts on rare freshwater mussels could have long-term negative consequences for one of the most diverse mussel streams in the United States.

Grants from Federal Agencies

Forest Health Protection Grants — This U.S. Forest Service program funds projects in forest monitoring, biological control of invasive forest pests, evaluation of pesticide impacts, and cutting-edge technology to restore and protect forests.

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now accepting applications for a total of $9 million in grants to fund about 24 projects to address stormwater runoff pollution from land. State agencies, interstate agencies, federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal organizations, local governments, institutions of higher learning, and non-profit organizations are eligible to apply.

Landscape Scale Restoration — This U.S. Forest Service grants program supports collaborative, science-based restoration of priority forest landscapes and furthers priorities identified in State Forest Action plans. Applications must be submitted in collaboration with the PA State Forester.

Plant Protection Act 7721 Funding — The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service provides funding through the Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program and the National Clean Plant Network Programs under the authority of the Plant Protection Act, Section 7721.

Other Grant and Funding Opportunities

Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Program — This National Fish and Wildlife Foundation program develops community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships focused on improving water quality, watersheds, and the species and habitats they support. 

Brandywine Creek Greenway Mini Grant Program — Funds small projects that improve parks, open space, and community trails and advance priority conservation and recreation projects identified in the BCG's Strategic Action Plan and other publicly vetted municipal planning documents.

Center for Rural Pennsylvania Grant Program — Provides grants and mini-grants to projects in one or more of the center's mandated research areas: rural people and communities, economic development, local government finance and administration, community services, natural resources and the environment, educational outreach, rural values and social change, agriculture, and health and welfare concerns. Qualified faculty at Pennsylvania State University; the State System of Higher Education universities; and the regional campuses of the University of Pittsburgh, which are in Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown and Titusville, are eligible to apply. Partnerships with other academic institutions, community organizations, and public and private agencies are encouraged.

BoatUS Foundation Small Grants Competition — Over the past 25 years the Foundation has awarded over a million dollars to local community organizations, yacht clubs, flotillas and squadrons. The Foundation is looking for creative and innovative projects that promote safe and clean boating on your local waterway. Past topics have ranged from PSAs on the effects of boating under the influence to hands-on education about the effects of marine debris.

MidAtlantic Aquatic Invasive Species Panel — The mission of the MAPAIS is to assist state and federal agencies and other stakeholders in developing and implementing strategic, coordinated, and action-oriented approaches to preventing and controlling aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the mid-Atlantic region. The driving force behind the mission is to strengthen cooperation, coordination, and communication on AIS issues within the region and beyond. The Mid-Atlantic Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species (MAPAIS) offers an annual small grants competition and encourages broad participation from groups and individuals concerned about AIS issues in the mid-Atlantic region. A proposal submission must address an AIS problem.

South Mountain Mini Grant Program — Spanning approximately half a million acres in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York counties, the South Mountain landscape is one of Pennsylvania's more unique regions. The program provides funding, on a competitive basis, to projects that sustain the South Mountain landscape's sense of place by protecting and promoting the region's landscape resources.

Watershed Protection Grant Program — This William Penn Foundation program supports science, policy, practice, and communications projects in the Delaware Watershed focused on surface water quality and watershed health and protection.